World War I and the Wars of Independence in Southern Latvia

The Monument to the Defenders of Jelgava – the Daugavgrīva Home Guards who stopped the German Army from attacking Jelgava at the end of April 1915, was unveiled in 1991 next to Svēte School in Jelgava Municipal ity. At the beginning of May 1915, a large demonstration was held in Jelgava to commemorate this important event. The fact that the Latvian Home Guards managed to stop the German attack was used by Jānis Čakste and his as sociates to justify the idea of establishing Latvian Riflemen units during World War I.

The author of the monument is sculptor Alīna Veibaha (1923–2011)

The museum is located in the former railway station build ing of Eleja Village. The War Museum in Eleja was established by the associa tion “Zemgales strēlnieks” (Zemgale Rifleman).

The rep resentatives of the association are active in public edu cation, putting on exhibitions, displays and educational programmes. The exhibition of the museum is mainly dedicated to World War II. It displays uniforms, equipment, armaments, and photographs of the historical period. The museum offers the opportunity to take photos in military uniforms of dif ferent historical periods and armies. The small two-storey building houses several hundreds of exhibits of military her itage. In addition, there are exhibits related to the town and surroundings of Eleja, the history of the region and its notable persons.

The private collection “Family Barn” is located at the family estate “Ābeļu Putniņi”. Created in 2007, it reveals the history of one family through stories, objects and a reconstructed trench shelter. Visitors are offered an insight into the history of World War I, the Latvian Army, World War II, the Brothers’ Cemetery in Riga and the Christmas Battles. The old barn displays embroidered table cloths, homemade folk costumes, a cupboard with tableware, skis and a chariot wheel donated by Baron Korf. In 2011, the equipping of the restored birch wood trench shelter was com menced. In it, a furnace, a sleeping area, and stands display ing objects related to the First World War – broken tableware, photographs and rusted weapon parts are on display there. The exhibition allows visitors to experience the scenes of the First World War as described in the Blizzard of Souls, a novel by Aleksandrs Grīns. Special attention is paid to the Vidzeme 4th Riflemen Regiment and the Christmas Battles. The following soldiers are mentioned: Robert Soks, who is buried at the Broth ers’ Cemetery in Riga, as well as writers Aleksandrs Grīns, Jānis Akurāters, composer Arvīds Žilinskis and others. The exhibition grounds feature bomb pits from World War I and a spring from which the soldiers drew drinking water. A tour of the site lasts for 1.5–2 hours and is available in Latvian and Russian.

Located in Krustpils Palace

Viewable exhibition "Fights for freedom in the 20th century"
Soviet repression. Hard memories. Sitting here in a club chair, you can listen to fragments of the book "Those were the times" by Ilmars Knaģ from Jēkabpils. On one of the walls of the room, a list of townspeople deported to Siberia slides dispassionately, like the credits after a movie. There you can watch an amateur video about the removal of the Lenin monument in Jēkabpils on the old TV. Visitors are interested not only in the content, but also in the technical possibilities - how did this film get on the old TV.

It is possible to listen to the lectures prepared by the museum specialists at the Jēkabpils History Museum or apply for an excursion: Jēkabpils and its surroundings in the First World War, Jēkabpils in 1990, the time of the Barricades, the deportations of 1949 - 70, Jēkabpilians Cavaliers of the Lāčplēš Military Order, etc.
The average duration of lectures is 40 min. Information and registration for lectures by calling 65221042, 27008136.

Information about prices

Jēkabpils History Museum is located in Krustpils Castle. In 1940, after the inclusion of Latvia in the USSR, the 126th Rifle Division was stationed in Krustpils Castle. During the Second World War, the castle housed a German infirmary, and after August 1944, a Red Army war hospital. After the war, Krustpils Castle with the adjacent manor buildings were occupied by the central warehouses of the 16th Long-range Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment and the 15th Air Army of the Soviet Army.